September 2010 Luxembourg Match
Match Setting This was the kickoff match for the UEFA Euro Championship Qualifiers. This was part of the first matchweek of Group D. It was played in Stade Josy Barthel in front of 8000 spectators. Squad The squad was announced on August 28th and consisted of 23 players, most of which play abroad with the exception of Edin Visca, who plays in Zeljeznicar, playing in the Adriatic Superleague. It consisted on 3 GK, 6 Defensemen, 10 Midfielders and 5 Strikers. Hoffenheim and Lech, both with 2 players, were the most represented teams. While the German Bundesliga was the most represented league with 4 players. Three players (Jasmin Sudic, Sanel Kapidzic and Edis Bahtijarevic) are set to debut and have their first international cap. The squad list is after the break: 23-man Squad Missing Players Zvjezdan Misimovic was currently injured, with a grade three torn hamstring strain, which will at least have him sidelined for 3 months. Mensur Mujdza was currently injured, with a slipped disc, which will at least have him sidelined for 3 weeks. Vedad Ibisevic was currently injured with a second degree abdominal strain, which will, at least, have him sidelined for 7 weeks. Tactics Given the forced absence of Vedad Ibisevic, Mikulic tried to improvise during the week's practice sessions, but ultimatately he decided on going with his usual tactic, only changing Ibisevic for Ermin Zec. The starting squad and their roles was as follow. Result and Analysis The game was won comfortably by Bosnia and Herzegovina , with a 5-0 score. Analysis This was a very relaxed game for the Bosnian side, as they weren't upfronted with many opposition by Luxembourg. In the first half Bosnia and Herzegovina started to press the Luxembourgers defense, and quickly scored with nicely placed Sejad Salihovic shot at the 18 minute mark. That was the scoreline when the first half ended, but they deserved a couple of more goals. The second half started quickly when the best player of the team Edin Dzeko scored the first of his hattrick just 4 minutes in. Ermin Zec took advantage of a great Miralem Pjanic pass and scored in a 1-on-1 with the keeper at 60 minutes. Finally Dzeko completed his hattrick with two more beautiful goals at 63' and 78'. Important Stats Possession % = 44-56 Passes Completed % = 67-83 Shots 2-24 Clear Cut Chances 0-3 Shots on Target = 1-10 Individual Performances Edin Dzeko was once again the team's leader in terms of performance. He was relentless in front of goal scoring three times. He also won almost always his headers and fought hard pressing the defense. His rating was 9.6 Sejad Salihovic was the second best performer in the match. He scored a goal, with a beautiful placed shot to open the scoreline and assisted Dzeko in one of his three goals. His passing was always with iniciative and helped with some neat crosses. He was rated a 9.2. Miralem Pjanic was once again a great player in Bosnia's side. His passing is truly a joy to behold, and he made it clear that he's taking more of an attacking role. He snatched 2 assists and was always looking for open teammates. He was rated 9.0.